India's count of Omicron cases, the new variant of COVID-19, rose to 143 on Sunday, 19 December, after three more cases were detected in Gujarat, which now has a total of ten such cases.
A 45-year-old non-resident Indian (NRI) and a teenage boy, who had recently arrived in the state from the United Kingdom, were found infected with Omicron. Meanwhile, a woman who returned from Dubai also tested positive for the new variant.
State Health Department officials said that all three patients are stable and isolated at various hospitals.
The 45-year-old man had arrived at the Ahmedabad International Airport from the UK on 15 December, where his RT-PCR test was conducted.
"The man's sample was later found infected with the Omicron variant," Anand district health officer Dr MT Chhari said.
Meanwhile, Gandhinagar municipal commissioner Dhaval Patel said that on Saturday, a 15-year-old boy from Gandhinagar was also detected with the Omicron variant after returning from the UK.
So far in Gujarat, three cases have been found in Jamnagar, two each in Surat and Vadodara, and one each in Gandhinagar, Mehsana and Anand. However, the three patients in Jamnagar have already been discharged.
Overall, Omicron has been detected in 11 states and union territories in India - Maharashtra (48), Delhi (22), Rajasthan (17) and Karnataka (14), Kerala (11), Gujarat (10), Telangana (8), Andhra Pradesh (1), Chandigarh (1), Tamil Nadu (1) and West Bengal (1).
On Saturday, Karnataka and Kerala had reported six and four new cases, respectively, while three more persons had also tested positive for the variant in Maharashtra.
The Maharashtra Health Department said on Saturday that eight new Omicron infections had been found in the state. The overall tally was at 48, out of which 28 had been discharged.
(With inputs from PTI.)
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